NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed strong concern over hospitals charging up to 10 t;imes the retailer price for cancer medicines and suggested a uniform 16 per cent margin on all medicines.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing petitions concerning medicine price regulation, generic prescriptions and medical devices under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
The Bench pointed out that a cancer drug supplied to retailers for Rs 2,700 was being sold at an MRP of Rs 27,000. It also asked the Centre to examine the practice of corporate hospitals insisting that patients purchase medicines only from their designated pharmacies.
The Solicitor General told the court that the government would examine the issue, while the Bench stressed that patients and taxpayers ultimately bear the burden of such pricing practices.